Captions and Transcripts

Audio and video hosted on or linked from a Brandeis website must have captions and transcripts.

Please note: some services, for example YouTube, offer autocaptions (the computer will write the captions for you). This is a good start, but they are neither dependable nor accurate much of the time. If you decide to use autocaptions, please review the captions the computer provided and edit them for accuracy and punctuation before releasing or linking to your video.

When are Captions and/or Transcripts Required?

Audio Only

Audio only files (sound, but no video) should have transcripts or descriptions available.

Pre-recorded Video

Pre-Recorded video files should have captions, preferably closed, as well as a transcript. This is true for video you own, as well as video from external sources. You should not embed or link to videos that do not contain captions.

Live Streaming Video

Live streaming video should have captions, preferably closed. It is generally understood that transcripts are unavailable for live video, but when possible (streaming a speech or a reading/performance of pre-written material), transcripts should be provided.

MTS can help set up streaming and live captioning service for live events.

Video without Audio

If a video has no audio track, it should still have a descriptive transcript.